Last week I turned fifty-four years old. I don't mind sharing my age. Actually, I am proud of reaching my fifties and thankful for what has come with being this age. As I have grown older I have developed little idiosyncrasies. One example is researching and researching before any product can be purchased. I would be horrified if I purchased the wrong brand or paid too much when one was marked twenty dollars less! I also have a habit of taking every map, travel book, and other bits of interest when we go camping ten miles away. I want the security of knowing where I am going. Sometimes I don't have enough gas to get to town, but the car has aspirin, wipes for the glasses, mints, chap stick, toothpicks, hand warmers, ice cleats, and extra Kleenex. I love to be prepared.

I have shared other poems by Judith Viorst from her collection Forever Fifty and other negotiations. Here is another favorite that was a gentle reminder this week:

Wild ThingI went for a walk in the sun without wearing my sunscreen,I went out of town without making a reservation.I placed my mouth directly upon a public drinking fountain, and took a sip.I didn't bother flossing my teeth before bedtime.I pumped my own gasoline at a self-service station.I ate a deviled egg instead of the cauliflower with low-fat yogurt dip.I bought, without reading Consumer Report, a new dryer.I left my checking account unreconciledI know that the consequences could be dire,But sometimes a woman simply has to run wild.

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